UNO’s Ariana Jimenez and Jaden Forester named Southland Track Runners of the Week

OFFICIAL SOUTHLAND RELEASES: WOMEN |MEN 

NEW ORLEANS – Junior runners Ariana Jimenez and Jaden Forester were named Southland Track Runners of the Week on Wednesday afternoon by the league office for their performances at last weekend’s Louisiana Classics.

Ariana kicked off a fantastic Friday for the Privateers with her win in the 3000M Steeplechase. The Florida native finished with a time of 10:51.82. That time is the best in the Southland Conference, the best in the South Central Regional, third best in the East Region, and ninth best in the entire country so far this season.

Forester’s victory in the 5K on Friday helped the Privateers to three victories out of four events on the opening night of the Louisiana Classics. Jaden’s time of 14:37.75 is the best in the Southland Conference, the best in the South Central Region, sixth in the East Region, and 21^st best in the entire country so far this season.

Ariana becomes the first Privateer female to win outdoor Track Athlete of the Week since Anna Martin on March 16 last season, while Jaden becomes the first male Privateer to be named Outdoor Southland Track Athlete of the Week since Ismael Kone who won the award twice last season. It is the first time either Jimenez or Forester has won the award.

HEAD COACH BROCK MOREAUX 

“Congrats to Ariana and Jaden on their Southland Track Athlete of the Week honors!  Both of them ran really strong opener races in bitterly cold conditions.”  

“For Jaden, we decided to open up in a bit of an off-distance event to reset from Indoor to Outdoor season, and for him to run that well just shows how impressive his range is. I am really excited to see him drop back down to his mid-distance events and continue pushing those barriers.” 

“Ariana showed a lot of poise and maturity in her racing this weekend. The first steeple race of the season is all about getting some reps over hurdles and coming out feeling confident, and she nailed it.” 

SOCIAL MEDIA
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